observation post stands, but, as it stands there still, or part of
it does at all events, its real name is best left unsaid. A feeble
imitator of the immortal "Ruthless Rhymes" in his intervals of
observation produced the following--
To a cross-roads that I know
Careful Colonels rarely go.
'Tis a pity; if the sniper
Potted men whose years were riper,
Our artillery promotion
Would be quicker, I've a notion!
and was wounded in that very spot on the next morning, which possibly
he richly deserved. Yet close by was the Hidden Garden, a little
plot of a few square feet hidden from prying eyes by a thick hedge,
wherein grew chrysanthemums that were a never-failing delight to a
pair of eyes tired of the ugliness of war's destruction, and a bush
of rosemary that smelt of our own West Country. What loving hand had
planted it, and will the owner of that hand return some day to find
all the familiar houses in heaps of blackened ruins, the well-known
trees cut down or mutilated by shell-fire, the peaceful fields furrowed
with long trenches and strewn with fragments of shell? If so, perhaps
the little garden will still show signs of the unknown who, in return
for the beauty with which it gladdened his heart, tore up the weeds
that bid fair to choke it and tended the flowers as best he could. And
perhaps the very hand that planted the flowers will, on a more peaceful
November 1, lay a bunch of them on each of the nameless graves that
lie near by. And perhaps Suicide Corner will again become the centre
of a wayside village, and the troubled air will forget the ceaseless
song of the sniper's bullet and the sharp crack of rifle and roar of
bursting shell. Only the thickly strewn graves will remain, witnesses
that over this quiet spot was once the hunting-ground of Death.
Printed in Great Britain by Richard Clay & Sons, Limited,
brunswick st., stamford st., s.e., and bungay, suffolk.
WHAT I SAW IN BERLIN
AND OTHER EUROPEAN CAPITALS DURING WAR TIME
By "PIERMARINI"
Crown 8vo. Price 5/-net
This arresting volume contains the impressions produced on the mind
of "a neutral" who at considerable risk has visited Berlin (twice),
Vienna, Constantinople, Pesth, Amsterdam, Brussels, Antwerp, and Paris
on different occasions, after several months of war. It is full of
first-hand information regarding the state of affairs in the capitals
of our foes.
_Globe_:--"A thoroughly enjoyable book of enormous interest in these
stirring times."
_Truth_:--"Vivid and interesting."
_Sunday Times_:--"Piermarini's vivacity of style is as unexceptional
as his daring in action."
_AT ALL BOOKSHOPS, BOOKSTALLS AND LIBRARIES_
EVELEIGH NASH COMPANY, LTD.
36 King Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C.
THE DIARY OF AN ENGLISH RESIDENT IN FRANCE
DURING TWENTY-TWO WEEKS OF WAR TIME
By ROWLAND STRONG
Crown 8vo. Price 6/-net
Mr. Strong is well known as a keen and judicial critic of current
events. Owing to his long residence in France he understands our Ally
thoroughly, and his instructive volume reveals the true soul of the
people in arms. At the same time he criticises freely her failings and
idiosyncrasies.
_Evening Standard_:--"Many interesting side-lights on the war are cast
by this wayfarer in France."
_Yorkshire Post_:--"Can be cordially recommended."
_AT ALL BOOKSHOPS, BOOKSTALLS AND LIBRARIES_
EVELEIGH NASH COMPANY, LTD.
36 King Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C.